LITTLE ROCK — I believe there are two reasons behind the exceptional wines of Germany - skill and passion. Many may disagree because they have not tasted a perfect expression of Germany's Riesling grape.
Sadly, it's the million bottles or so of Liebfraumilch that led the world to consider German wines as only simple and sweet. This stigma is not the only reason many Americans fumble through restaurant wine lists and store shelves; the labels can be confusing to understand as well.
To better understand German labeling terms, one must remember that they refer to levels of sweetness and not to levels of quality.
Kabinett is a normal harvest of ripe grapes.
Spatlese are grapes that have been picked late in the harvest, which gives extra flavor and more sugar to the grape.
Auslese grapes are picked as late as possible in the season to develop more sugar and perhaps have been affected bynoble rot.
Beerenauslese is one of the world's most honored harvests because only selected individual grapes that have been affected by noble rot are used.
Trockenbeerenauslese, the rarest of German wines, is made of individually harvested berries that have been affected by noble rot and contain an even higher sugar level.
THE VALUE
2003 Rudi Wiest Riesling, Germany (about $10, retail)
2006 Schmitt Sohne Spatlese Riesling, Germany (about $10, retail)
2005 Twisted River Late Harvest Riesling, Germany (about $10, retail)
2006 Relax Riesling, Germany (about $12, retail)
THE SPLURGE
2004 Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium Spatlese Riesling, Germany (about $19, retail)
2006 Dr. Loosen Riesling, Germany (about $18, retail)
2006 Bloom Riesling, Germany (about $18, retail)
2006 Kunstler Estate Riesling, Germany (about $19, retail)
2005 Leonard Kreusch Beerenauslese, Germany (about $34, retail) Write to Lorri Hambuchen at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail:
Food, Pages 55 on 10/24/2007